The Drums of Stone
by Servant of Fire
Summary: The sequel of "The Tales of New Shadow"
1. Chapter 1 Through Wind and Water

**Through Wind and Water~**

**Beginning the second part of "The Tales of New Shadow, which is the account of how Tirgil ,the only Son of Eru Iluvatar, made war with Melkor called Morgoth, and his servants~**

The wind rose, and there was a scent of breath newly made under starlight in the flower-laden trees, beyond the world. For Tirgil had gone out beyond the Circles of the World, hunting whither the Black Ents had borne Frodo Ninefingered, and Faithful Samwise the Brave.

And when He had passed through the Garden of the Spiders, where none but the dead dare venture, and few of these return, He had brought again from that twisted shadow,the soul of Legolas Thrandurilion, who had sacrificed his life to The Vampiress,if only to buy the Lord time.

And laying under tree, in a tent of elven silk, apoun sheets of linen, white as the stars of Elbereth, we find the Elf, and he had not yet woken, for as life returned to him, so did great weariness, and he had been asleep now many days, borne up in a weapons- cart behind Windfola, great stallion of Eowyn Shieldarm.

And Gimli Gloin's-son sat there beside him, under the _elenor_-trees, and watched his breath, rising and falling, and was mute with astounding joy that he who had died, and been burned to ashes , lay here now clean of shadow, and whole, and the grace of his elven youth had returned in such virtue, he had about him the youthen aura of an elf that had only lived as long as a life of men, or perhaps younger yet, as young even as the youths amongst the Younger Children.

But still his face was grave,even in his sleep, and though his body may have been renewed in youth and elven grace, his wisdom was far deeper than even the oldest and wisest of his kin, for he had been in the Grave, and walked in the Timeless Realm for ages far longer than even Arda had endured. Out beyond the song he had gone, and seemed to wander yet, not quite hearing its Music.

Still no music, no matter how sweet the songs of all the childen of Iluvatar, could have bid him come back from where he wandered quite like the voice of a friend. For Gimli sat roiling joy like the spring does its issue, and atlast unable to contain his laughter and glee, he cried,

"Elfling, Elfling, Why are you sleeping? There is a war needs fighting, shall I cut down all the hosts of the Black One for you, or would you like a hand in it?"

Legolas' eyes fluttered, and he turned from where he wandered along the edge of the light, eager to come again to the friend he had missed for ages beyond count.

And his eyes opened, and they burned with light as blue the Heaven of the Timeless Land from whence he had come.

"Gimli? So ,it isn't a dream then?" he sat up, and Gimli's mouth gaped in his glee, at the very sight of him. For he had never seen an elven youth before, believed personally that there were none, and that, though they didn't age, still none were ever children. But the one before him looked no more than 20 years of age, by the years of men,yet the wisdom of his eyes was older than Mithrandir, and his obvious strength that of an old elven warrior, grown hard in battle.

"But I thought it was, and I walked through wind and water, and leagues of darkness...How long have I been asleep?"

Gimli wept in his joy, and embraced the Elf, "Too long ,indeed. You were slain perhaps a week or more ago. And you have been asleep 3 days and 3 nights..."

"Only that long?It seems it should be longer...Time, Gimli, I never gave it much thought...Before..."

"Speak not of it! Not yet anyway, you darken your fair, young face. Aye, you too!, and I never thought it old!But now, now you are no more than a child to my eyes, no older than young Fili and Kili!"

Legolas laughed, and looked at his hands...And was suddenly speechless, and in tears.

"What is it,my friend? Why do you weep?"

The Elf looked up, tears streaming down his face,"For the first time in longer than I can remember...I don't feel the weight of shadow!...I..."he rubbed a palm in his fingers.

"I am light,...like when I was young under the Greenwood's boughs..."

"Dear Legolas," said the Lord's voice ,as He entered the tent. "You are young again, did you not know?"

Thranduril followed, and froze, in absolute disbelief to see, not an apparition, but in living-breathing-flesh , his son as he had been in his boy-hood.

"I dared not believe it till You came, my Lord!" the Elf cried in delight.

Tirgil drew a deep breath of the living wind under tree, and reached, and pulled the Elf to his feet.

"See that he is fed, and give him the armor I have had made for him. He must recover his strength, for he who walked the way before them, will lead us down the Dark- Ent's road to where Frodo and Sam are..."

And with that, the shadow-like-moonlight of Tirgil left the tent.

And Thranduril fell apoun the neck of his son, and sobbed, cradling him as if he were indeed a child, and not the very young Elf he appeared as.

Gimli in utter joy, left the tent, and followed his Lord out, leaving father and son to have a moment of private joy.

And that is where we begin the telling again, not much farther from where we left it, but it is the nature of tales to repeat themselves , and to build slowly, as do castle walls, stone upon stone.


	2. Chapter 2 The Pyre of Ninefingered

**The Pyre of Nine Fingered~**

So it was, that when Frodo and Sam were taken by the Dark Ents, away into the Shadow,(as per the agreement they made with the Vampiress, to buy time for their friends, by appeasing her lust for blood) that they bore them to the very edge of the Wood of Elven Souls. And there they commanded them,that they should cut down every living tree,that stood at the end of the forest, trees as thick as the pillars of the halls of Moria,trees as hard, as ancient as stone, that had seen all the ages before the Song, that would live and thrive in deathless youth, after the Song was long ended. Or would, had not Frodo and Master Samwise, been given spades of stone, and commanded to cut them down. And let them crash like the fall of great mountains, and let them break Arda's bones, and spill the blood of her waters from the clay. And peal the bark from them, till their hands bled. And they commanded them to heap up the fallen ,eternal trees in a great mountainous pile. To be burned there on, in the Vampiress' fire, that she would light from the Tears of the Eyes of Morgoth, the very Well of Fury.

And so they labored, for long years they labored, for the years in the Void are longer than the lives of the Eldar, ever working towards the days of their burning. For the fire she lit would burn longer than the years of their captivity in the New Angband, longer than the fires of the revenge of the Black Foe.

Of truth, the fire she deigned to light was one of Chaos, and not only for vengeance, but to unmake the Circles of the World,again into shadow.

To create the Silence before the Song afresh. A Deepening SIlence...

And to cause the One-Star, even the Watch Star, the Son of Eru,Tirgil, Prince of Light, to cease from standing in the Halls of the Morning, to cease from drawing air, and by His breath,causing all to breathe.

So they labored, knowing all the while that they would die, die so that none of their friends need suffer this fire; die so that the grace of their Lord's name not be dishonored. Die , for the love of one another, again...

And they made them songs, laments more like, of the dieing of the ancient wood, and they called it the Song of the Tree-Slaying, and it went like this, though the world has forgotten most of it now...

_In days before the Song began_

_When all was silent, and Iluvatar sat in thought,_

_Then in the darkness up they sprung,_

_Awaiting the birth of the First-born Son,_

_They spread their boughs before He breathed,_

_Or ever the ocean He tread, long since,_

_They spread their boughs, like covering,_

_Green wings spread over Westernesse,_

_They made Him cradle, and for the snow,_

_They made a nest of living limbs,_

_Awaiting the day of their master's birth,_

_Awaiting the Dawn's awakening,_

_But now they must fall like flies,_

_And we must fell them, curse our hands!_

_And curse our eyes that see the day,_

_When ends the Forest's Watchfulness,_

_In this Eastren land, beyond the ash,_

_Of snakes that writhe through soils washed,_

_Made barren of the fruit of field,_

_Made drunk with drinking blood, and burying,_

_No end to killing, yet they stood,_

_Sentinal over the Prince of God._

_Now bind the floods, and bind our eyes,_

_Forgive us Lord, we pray long since,_

_The days began when the pyre we build,_

_Was yet not built, we would not have done,_

_As we do now, but for your Son,_

_The trees they give their lives for love,_

_Of the only begotten child of the One,_

_Willing, they fall to us,_

_They give their breath, that honored yet,_

_The Prince of Morning still to be,_

_The Captain of both Wind and Sea,_

_Now curse or hands, and bind our eyes,_

_Oh Lord remember us, on your throne,_

_When the King has come into his own,_

_Remember that we burn away,_

_In barren lands beyond the Sun,_

_And if then you remember, Lord we pray,_

_Lord forgive..._

On they sang through the ageless Void, but one morning,as they rose to their grim task, they were joined in song as they sang thus:

_Oh Lord forgive, what we do,_

_If we shall burn, will be for you,_

_And if it ends in fire, then,_

_Let it be a worthy end,_

_And some smoke to your nostrils, send,_

_Our prayers,and our remorse,..._

And even as they sang thus, the clear elven voice of Legolas joined the song,

_In Shadow lands beyond the sun,_

_There die the trees,and let them die,_

_And sing with sorrow, and heaven's weep,_

_Not all tears are evil, let it rain,_

_But when the tears are wept, refrain,_

_From being sad, and then again,_

_Rejoice, the trees once more shall rise,_

_And spread green towers in the skies!_

And the wood was silent, and Sam cried, "Well, Bless me, master, if it isn't Legolas Greenleaf! Or maybe it's not... For he died long ago.."

And while he was yet singing, the Horn of Helm Hammerhand did sound in the ancient wood, and a smokey, hauntingly beautiful, clear like the ring of steel, but soft, woman's voice, and that of Eowyn Shield-arm, sang:

_Green towers rise again from earth,_

_And seas shall have a second birth,_

_Weep for those that went before,_

_And weep for the bitterness of war,_

_Weep for the watches of the night,_

_Weep for the children's plight,_

_Weep for all that isn't right,_

_But when He comes, then weep no more,_

_Rather raise your voice, as lords,_

_As mighty men take up your swords!_

_The King shall come into His own!_

_The drums are sounding,drums of stone,_

_Cry out ,oh Mountains, not alone!_

And then the voice kingly of Elessar sang:

_Lift your head, look to the skies,_

_Look , and no more curse your eyes,_

_Look, there rises His star,_

_Though once He wandered afar,_

_Not all those who wonder are lost,_

_Merely did He way the cost,_

_Lift up your head, and look around,_

_Lift up thy eyes from sodden ground,_

_Behold! the Lord of Sound,_

_The Life, beginning of the Song,_

_The First the Last, and Wholly Strong,_

_Behold the King of All-Along!_

And suddenly,there was Tirgil, walking in that ancient forest, where He had not walked, since the days He hung Himself on the Dark Tree, to end its malice.

"Rise, my servants, bow not to me! I would have you stand!" He cried, and stretched His hands.

Behold, the trees stood up! And in their boughs, and in their bodies was the light of Younger Days, their youth renewed again.

And Frodo fell at his Lord's feet,

"Forgive me, Lord, I thought it would bring honor to your name, and hinder her atleast."

And Sam knelt and said, "And, begging your pardon,Majesty, but I must always go with Mr. Frodo. It's my place, you see.."

And the Prince laughed,and lifted their faces,

"You did as the Fire bid you do, and thus you have done up,rise from the pyre you were long building. I have a rendevous with the Lady of Night, and she is cheated of a prize, of a Blood-slave ,you might say. She will make war with me...And I am ready for her..."

Eowyn drew her sword, and stuck it in the ground before her, "And so am I, and if she is not ready for me, I will wait..."

Then Tirgil called _her_ out of the Shadow, and riding apoun the Hound of Hell she came from the Grey Twilight,...a lowing of the loon sounding the doom of her feet.

And a war followed, and you shall hear tell of it, in yet further leaves of our telling;there is too much to tell just here...


	3. Chapter 3 The Wolves' Last Riding

**The Wolves' Last Riding~**

Then there was a low cry from out of the grey twilght, and great drums rolled as thunder in the deep, and the Vampiress did not speak, for before the Lord she knew she was beaten. She hissed only, and stood up in the saddle of the great, grey warg she rode, and she made a low keening cry.

Then out of the darkness, they came. Pale as moonlight, grey as hoar-frost, out of the deep they came. Fey as death, grim as shadow, and with them a cloud, black as hatred, a cloud, the vapor of blood, still hanging in their fangs, from all their years of devouring. Out of the Night, with steady steps, graceful as horses, swift as rivers, strong as great bears of Wilderlands, forth they came, the Hounds of Hell, the pale Wargs of the Middle-night, with their Riders.

Eowyn raised her voice, like the cooing of a dove, over a tempest shaken forest, "Steady, steady...No wave rises against the Prince of Light. No wave shall overtake The-One-That-Walks-on-Seas..."

Then Tirgil strode forth, and drew his great white blade, and stood, as though He were the oldest and strongest of the trees of this ancient forest, as if His roots went down so deep in the stone, no creeping thing could find them. He stood as they poured forth, grey as the smoke from hell's last fire, white as snowfall under the mountains breaking under the burden of much ice, like avalanche after avalanche under the starlight, forth they came, and they howled, they howled to freeze the blood of Balrogs, to douse unholy fire, so cold the fury and the fear they brought.

And in that hour, the shieldmaiden laughed, and cast aside her helmet, and cried to the wolves,

"Come, Blood-fangs, Shadow-bringers, Grave-stalkers, come lords of carrion, I do not fear the Darkness! Behold the Lord!"

And Legolas leaped up on a great stone, and drew forth the keen bow a-light with the Secret Fire. And Gimli came and stood at his feet, as if he were a stone foundation, and twirled his axe, sweeping it like that sickle the Harvester of Souls wields.

"Oh, but did she think she come and find us _afraid_?!" Pippin chuckled, and Merry sounded the horn that Eowyn had given him,Sam drew his sword with a mighty yell, and Frodo brandished Sting, and it burned with blue light against the faces of the Uruk-hai, the last wolf riders, who bore their rusted swords aloft, and gave a keening cry that sounded again like loons of the lonely wild, but so drunk on blood as to not know grave from sky.

Then Eowyn leaped up on a ridge of stones, ready to leap down apoun the heads of the Wargs, that tried to slip past the beside her on the right hand was suddenly Captain Faramir, and at her left her sister, the she-Elf, Arwen Undomiel.

"Save a few for our sport,lady?" Faramir laughed, drawing his bow.

"With that tool in your hand, I should ask you to save me a few, milord Ranger."

Arwen drew forth moon-white blade of Elrond her father. "Fear not, you will get your share,Eowyn. For they come as fountains from the deeps of shadow. They come , rabid with the Wells of Fury. They have drunk their lords cup, and yes, we all shall taste the iron of their fangs!"

Eowyn flicked her blade, readying to pounce, as does the lioness before the prey, "Then shall I not taste that iron, and drink it as fine wine, as though I were a sot under my father,Theoden-king's table?!"

And Frodo came and stood before the younger hobbits, "Now, Frodo, why are you in the front?" Merry asked, voice quaking, for he knew already.

"If they are to rise as foam on oceans, and a tide should carry off a few stray leaves, then I'd rather they take me than any of you."

But then sturdy Thorin Oakenshield swept all of the young hobbits behind him, and to their left hand stood Fili, and to the right and before them a little to pose his bow, stood Kili, and Bilbo was with Thorin:

"You shall have no fear of being taken today, Master Baggins the Younger!" Thorin laughed, and drew forth his sword.

"For the Prince of the Song is come, and if there are ever deeds to be woven in tales,then today shall be the day! Take heart, we stand on the brink of legends!"

And Thranduril and Mithrandir stood one on the right hand, and one on the left of the prince, and the elf with his sword, and the Istari with his mighty staff, lit beacons of the Secret Fire about their master.

And then His countenance was changed, and his body appeared as a beryl stone, a jewel of living fire, under his armor, and his hair was like the flame of lighting and wafted about His face ,stirred in an unseen wind, an His eyes burned with a light to outlast the eternal stars, and brighter than all the secret fjords or the lighting, and His eyes were even so bright, that some of the Enemies host bowed down in blindness just before their light. His sword burned with the fire from His lips, as He uttered dark sayings of lore before the Song, of wisdom before the Dawn.

And He met the hosts of wolves like a stone meets the crashing of the storm-fevered waves, unmoveable, but with a weighty hand, he swung his sword, through throats of beasts. The Vampiress was cast off her steed from the start, and rose up with a cry,and drew two knives from out of her boots, and she began to spar with the Lord.

And Eowyn gave a cry, like a lioness indeed, and leaped down apoun the Captain of the Warg riders,and fought with him to gain mastery over his beast.

Then Arwen followed her, and slit the throat of a rider from behind, and stood aloft in his saddle, swinging blade through saddle-standers who wielded bow, and aimed for Elessar, who organized a wall of shields, on the ground.

Then Boromir came from the back of the line, to where his brother stood on the rock, and raised his great shield, to protect him, as he shot, even through the shafts of arrows being sent towards Aragorn's company of Rangers who had joined them, not long hence.

Then Thorin gave a cry to his dwarfs, that they should form a wall around the Halflings, and he with great shield of an oak branch in tow, strode into the fray, towards the Pale Orc astride his white Warg, who had his father and his grandfather, Thrain and Thor, both leg-shackled to the sides of his saddle,long since prisoners in this land of the Dead.

"Thorin!" Bilbo cried, never willing to leave his friend's side, and gave Frodo an anxious backwards glance. He waved him off with Sting,

"We can manage, Uncle!"

"And if they cannot,"Fili chimed in,and his brother bowed, and finished for him, "Then there's always Fili and Kili at your humble service..."

Then with a laugh, Bilbo ran into the storm.

Thorin cut down a great number of wolves in his wake, and took a horn full of liquor at his belt, and a flint rock, and lit their corpses ablaze,(for they caught easy fire with a little flint and fuel, in this land of drought and darkness).Now behind him was a path of fire, and willingly, purposefully,he had trapped himself in with his enemy, and he thrust his sword at them,

"In the name of Tirgil,son of the One, I command you give up the ghosts of them you stole!"

The Pale Orc laughed, "Then give of the last of Durin's blood!"

"Glady would I,but you will not rob anymore thrones or cradles, when the Prince walks on the earth again!"

"And who is this prince, little dwarf?Can you mean yourself? And where did you get the key that hangs about your neck,hum?"

"Stay speech, you know of whom I speak!Do not deny, lest His eyes fall apoun you!"

And Thror and Thrain begged their son not to do this thing, that he knew not the traps the Enemy laid. And the pale Orc laughed, and gurgled blood in his throat,"A fool you are!You know not what will befall you!"

"I know well enough, did you think I should fear you! Of truth, I shall not be disuaded by you, even if my blood ran cold as the Teiglin with fear. Or even if I were carried away where Niniel walks in sorrow,and eternal bitterness, or I met the fate of Turin Turambar, only God knows where, or even if I met the end of all my kin,and went the way of dust, I will not turn back from you!For I have seen Him...

I have seen He who hung apoun the Dark Tree, who was dead, and who is alive forevermore. I have seen Him who's very spirit is the Flame Imperishable! I have walked and talked with Him, I have sat at His table. When He made war in the heavens, then did I know Him, and I have followed in the wake of His feet. He gave me power to slay dragons, I have been in hell, and the heavenlies. And everywhere I have been, there was He, and He was not disuaded, by any ruin of the I go to a Deeper Grave, what of it?! The grave is always deeper...I have seen Him whom my soul desired, the one that I could follow,the One I could call King. All is over now, the wars, the ruin, the me it is over, for I have seen Him."

At this moment, Bilbo ran up behind, just in time to witness a great many things happening at once.

For at the words of Thorin, the pale orc, let down the shackles of his fathers, and let the King Under the Mountain unchain his kin, and Bilbo watched as they ran free to their company behind.

"My contest has ever been with you, Oakenshield..."The Pale Orc said, coming down from his steed, and pulling forth a crueler blade than any make of Morgul craft.

And Thorin raised his own blade against the horror of the poison in the one his life now stood at the edge of,

"A deeper grave you shall taste, and then we shall see how great your faith in your Lord is!" the orc hissed.

As just then, swift as a deer,roaring like a lion, Tirgil cast all the spirits of unholy fire from out of the Vampiress, and into the wolves, and chased them back into the Shadow crying,

_"Go back, go back, and end,and end, to evil fire!"_

And there was a great burst of light, as they ran,whining like whipped dogs, and burned without ashes,burning out of thought...


	4. Chapter 4 The Eagle's of Fire

**The Eagles of Fire~**

Young Bilbo stood,cold as the heart of frost, frozen as if he were stone, and he witnessed all at once, how the Tirgil siezed on fire, and drove the wolves back into the shadow. He watched too, as Thorin made his final stand with the Pale Rider.

It happened, far too fast. And yet it would live to become a legend, even as Oakenshield had said, for legends are kindred of winter, slowing down the flow of time, (for time is like a river), freezing hard the face of the cold waters that are the flow, the confusion, of ebbing thought, stilling hearts and breath, capturing the instance, even as the Cold of winter frames the snow, and gives it living shapes.

For the Pale Rider was grim, and drunk on the blood of the elves of this ancient forest, and he was swift in executing the burning passion for judgement that his lord ,the Dark Lord, had placed in him, and it was a living fire, and gnawed at his very life, so that he could not be released to die till it was done.

And his sword was swiftly drawn, and buried to the hilt in Thorin's heart.

And Bilbo uttered a cry that silenced the Song for a moment in its anguish, and all the Circles of the World came to a stand-still, hovering on the cold wind of legend,and the echo of the dieing of the music was heard through all the heavens, and the Valar held their breath, wondering what grave sorrow had wrung such a gentle heart with such pity and anguish as to make that sound, akin to the fox- kit in his dieing.

So grave the loss of the King Under the Mountain, not all the gold of Erebor could even make the scales of worth to quiver ,as the dieing leaves, against the worth of the Lord of Silver Fountains, the King of Carven Stone...

Bilbo was brought to his knees, and watched as Thorin stood steady,mouth gaping in pain, at the sword buried in his heart.

_But then that son of Durin drew the blade again from the fountain of his blood._

And he looked apoun it ,and laughed, a laugh that rolled like thunder,and he said to the Pale Rider,

" Oh Death, where is your sting, O grave where is your victory? For the grave is overrun in the blood of the Tirgil;tell them mountains, and sing oh stars, that the dead are walking on the earth again, behold, they have revived!"

And suddenly all them that had died, and raised to life heard Thorin's voice. Eowyn turned from where she stood now on the bloody field, the head of the Warg captain under her heel. And Boromir sounded his horn. Then Gimli's spine turned to ice and fire, for Legolas spread his arms out as though they were wings, and out of the elf's lips rang the clear cry of an eagle, clearer than all the songs of the Eagles, from the dawn of the Music.

And suddenly a flock of the great birds came, beating their wings, and behold their feathers were ablaze with the Flame Imperishable, and all of them shone as white as moonlight, and Eowyn drove her sword through the head at her feet.

"Death is turned backwards, and it is finished. Behold, He has made a full end of your reign, oh Death. And never more can you punish the children of Iluvatar.

Nor can you steal, anymore. You shall fall, oh Weavers of Darkness, now you shall fall, and not rise! The drums are singing in the deep, I hear them. And this is a war hell cannot win!"

Then Boromir sounded his horn again, and the Eagels of Fire swept over the battlefield like a tide, and Thorin drove the sword ,that had smitten him, through his enemy.

"Your own deeds shall turn apoun you. Shadow shall pass like a dream in the night, like the dream of the thirsty and starving; for water and food, he dreams. And you shall wait for the blood of Durin's sons, and you shall pine for bones of theirs to gnaw. But you shall wake famished; you shall be the hungry one!

Though you gnaw and pine, the end of your day has already come, it was finished before you began to trouble, because we have seen Him.

Go back, go back to the Shadow, or God help you. The Eagles have landed!"

And then the Eagles of Fire swept over, as a great and mighty sea, and the Pale Orc fell, and would no more rise.

And Thorin lifted the chains of Thrain and Thror, and behold they were broken.

And he turned to Bilbo, who wept, and smiled, and held them aloft:

"Look, Master Baggins! And here you have wasted your breath with cries! But your voice will grow stronger;this war is won before ever it began!"

And Bilbo laughed, giggling like a child,and it bubbled up in him like living waters, as the eagles flew over him.

"Truly,"he heard the voice of the Prince before them in battle,and covered his mouth, and the tears and anxious waiting of Bilbo Baggins were finally over.

**"NOW I HAVE SEEN HIM!"**


	5. Chapter 5 The Sailing of the Dead

**Chapter 6: The Sailing of the Dead**

And so it was, that after that battle, Tirgil called for a feast, a recompense for a feast cut short by a death, a celebration for the reversing of death.

And there has never been a Feast quite like the Feast of the Ancient Wood, and there shall never be again.

For I say ,of truth, that Eru the One Himself came down to sit at that table,with his Son,and there was wine so strong it put the Valar(even they were gathered there) to sleep by droves of them, even mighty Tulkas slept, and there was song,such as never had there been song.

And so it was, that some of the host of Tirgil, namely the Halflings ,together with Boromir and Faramir, were standing on an ancient bridge, over- looking the River that all rivers bleed into, the River of the Lost, that a boat began to float to them, over the water, and lilies floated about it.

And Faramir gave a cry, and stumbled backwards, for there in the boat she lay, as she had been for many lives of men, sleeping the sleep of death. And of a truth, to this very River is where the cold waters of the Teiglin had carried her.

Boromir then looked on her beauty and said,speaking as softly as if this were a dream, "She has a lovely , dark beauty like the women of my city. But her hair is fine gold, even the like of the maidens of the Rohirrim..."

Frodo felt a dread in the well of his blood, such as never had he felt dread, in all his years of homeless wandering, and even his bones ached,with the sorrow.

"Who?...who is she?"

And behind him,in the boughs of the trees, an elven harp began to play, and softly the voice of Luthien Tinuviel began to sing of the maiden who slept in the boat.

_~Into those waters, long ago,_

_Of cold Teiglin, you cast yourself,_

_And whither did they take you hence?_

_Oh Niniel, Oh Niniel,_

_Niniel oh!Niniel!_

_Her sorrow could no tounge tell,_

_Nor under sky could they weave,_

_A song to match her matchless grief,..._

_Did crested gull, or painted hawk?_

_Did grinning crow, or fair goshawk,_

_Call you from your watery grave?_

_Or did they tell you, Niniel?,_

_The Lord's returned and all is well,?_

_Oh Niniel, oh Niniel,_

_Your sorrow such that none could tell,_

_Niniel,..._

_Shall you again be Nienor,?_

_Hurin's daughter, ever more?_

_Where is Turin ,Niniel?_

_Call for Morwen, all is well,_

_And bring your father forth from sleep,_

_Niniel no more shall weep,_

_Now call the Hapless under stone,_

_Bid your brother no more roam,_

_Turambar, oh Turambar,_

_Long you have wandered far,_

_In pathless lands within the Shade,_

_Fell apoun your own cruel blade,_

_Turambar, oh Turambar,_

_No more shall you wander far,_

_Call the dead, and bid they sail, _

_Erst the moon waxes pale..._

And even as Tinuviel sang under the starlight, the boats of the Hapless began to sail, and there lay in their own boats, two lords, a father and a son, and one proud queen.

"It is the children of Hurin!" Faramir gasped, voice hushed, lest he break the spell.

And Frodo smiled, and his face shone in the starlight. And suddenly the Lady Galadriel was at their side.

"What does it mean?" Samwise chirped, and Merry and Pippin were too filled with wonder to speak at all.

Galadriel laughed as softly as the midsummer night's wind...

"He has called the dead home..." she answered, and smiled.

And even as they all watched in great wonder, and Tinuviel sang, and wove enchantment in the night, the dead were sailing into the Light, and they heard Tirgil say, "Welcome, friends long-lost! And wake!"

And behold the Hapless sat up,and began to speak, and walk around.

And then they heard the splashing of the feet of Tinuviel, and did not hear her song anymore, for she ran to the boat that bore Beren, and guided it swiftly to the Prince.

And others of them that had long slept in shadow they heard the voice of Eowyn cry for joy when Theoden and Theodred sailed to shore. And then came others too, Feanor was here, and all the slain of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

They came and were greeted all the same, and began to walk and speak. And then Turin wept openly, for up from the waters ran Urwen , Everchild,I name her, his sister that had died in her childhood,Lalaith she was known as, the maiden of laughter. And as she was risen, she was risen a child, with great wisdom, and she laughed as ever she did, and ran to her brother's waiting arms.

Then Frodo wept and he knew not why till Lady Galadriel said,

"He called them from out of the Grey Twilight, and they have come hence."

And then Frodo knew. Of course, how could they not follow, how could they not come again from the Dark?

Or who remains in Shadow, when they have seen Him?...


	6. Chapter 6 The Tale of Melkor and Tirgil

**Chapter 7: The Tale of Melkor and Tirgil~**

Never was there feasting like that night, when Tirgil made feast with the living,and the long- dead-risen.

And deep in the night, when Elbereth breathed her stars as lamps,for a night of song and tales that would not end till the telling was done, then did the Prince, the Son of the One Himself, take down His silver harp, and He strummed it and the stars shook,and a great many who sat there for a moment lost breath.

And Frodo and Samwise and Eowyn all bowed their heads gravely, for they knew what story need now be told, and it was not a merry one.

"Now, my children..." began the Prince, "Now I will tell you that story which began before the Song. In the days of the Silence, and before my Father caused all things to manifest, and even the Valar know this not, for I hid from them memory of their lives before the Song, and it may be that they deem their days to have begun with the music. This is not so, it happened on this wise, and there was need to hide it from them, and there is need now to reveal it."

And then in a sort of chant like voice, the Tirgil began His tale. The Tale of the Prince, and of Melkor:

_In days before the Song began,_

_In a land before the Elven home,_

_A garden grew in the vale,_

_Before Arda's circles were outstretched,_

_And there like dreamer's did they walk,_

_The Ainur ,before I taught them song,_

_Before they learned of music then,_

_In silence they were dreaming,_

_And in those blessed far- gone days,_

_Before the lamps were hung, in Silent- mists,_

_Of light from darkness, ancient trees,_

_This selfsame wood in which we sit,_

_Long ago I knew him well..._

_~Now arrow to the throat, sword to the breast,_

_The truth is deadly to confess,_

_In Dreamlike days before they did wake,_

_Here they walked by silver lake,_

_And here I saw him first, by little sea,_

_Melkor, dearest friend to me,_

_~~~~Melkor, ah, Melkor,_

_Like brother wert thou , Melkor,_

_We raced through the dark before the world,_

_We learned to work by scythe and spade,_

_Before ever was there War made,_

_Like brother to the Son of God,_

_Melkor merely tilled the sod,_

_~Melkor, humble gardener,_

_And I his Master, much the like,_

_Of Samwise and Frodo of Finger's Nine,_

_We were brother's he and I,_

_But Melkor had a will to fly,_

_~Long ago since he betrayed,_

_And turned the Dream-days into terrors of Night,_

_Such a darkness did they know,_

_I caused the Ainur to forget,_

_I knew that Melkor would change the song,_

_To chaos noise, and would spill blood,_

_So long before the World began,_

_Whilst the Valar slept, I made him pledge,_

_I lead him out to that Last Tree,_

_And there upon Melkor hung me,_

_~And my blood ran into the ground,_

_To atone for all twas vile,_

_That he would do,that he had willed,_

_That through the circles was already done,_

_My blood ran through his fingers,_

_His love waxed cold, and Death began,_

_And there I hung for all of Time,_

_And passed Beyond, and have returned,..._

And with that Tirgil ceased to chant, and laid aside His harp. "And I have returned, and Eowyn Shieldarm is witness, and I mustered me an army amongst the ranks of the Dead, and she was there when I came riding up out of the Twighlight. And she knows that Twighlight for she found me there, and that is where she siezed the Lord of Nine's steed. And the Drums of Stone have begun to roll in the deep again, and now is the time. We must for the sake of the Redeemed take Melkor from within his shadow. For he calls apoun a power that is greater than himself. The Tree. Arda's Tree. The one on which I was hung as Atonement. He shall take into his hand the Seven Roots, and spill forth all the Darkness that I drew into it's stoney trunk again into the world, and create new shadow. An abomination, that must not be."

Eowyn leaped to her feet, pulling a dagger from a sheath tied into the laces of her trouser leg, and stabbed the table,

"It will not!" she cried.

And the warriors of Trigil suddenly began an upheaval of table- beating, and stone- drumming themselves that bid the Sun to rise, and began the Second Morning of our tale.


	7. Chapter 7 The March of the Dark Ents

**Chapter 7: The March of the Dark Ents~**

So the morning atlast came, and marked the end of the Great Feast of Tirgil, and then all the companies of the Prince gathered in troops, the horsemen with Eowyn, and she lead into battle , she lead even the Kings of Rohan, Theoden and Eomer, and Prince Theodred, and their fathers, and she even rode before Eorl the Young.

And Thorin Oaknshield marched before all the host of Durin. Elessar before the Kings of the Edain. And even before Beren and Turin.

Legolas lead the March of the Elves, and strode even before his father, and before fair Gilgalad, again waking, and before Feanor and his mighty soul.

And Faramir was captain over even Denethor and all the kin of Ecthelion, even before his elder brother, did the "lesser" son, the wiser son, lead.

And before all the great host of Elves, and Dwarves, and Men, there marched Five Young Halflings, and Frodo was their captain, given a silver helm of pure starlight woven, and Sam was at his side, and held the Star-Glass, and Bilbo kept Sting with him, and Merry and Pippin were clad as knights of the kingdoms of men.

And Tirgil Once-Slain marched before them all, and even before His Father, who rode astride a great chariot made of three wheels wrought verily of living fire, and positioned in the center of the Company, Three Wheels turning every which way all at once, and keeping Him aloft.

And the Host poured forth like blood from the veins of the stars, as bright as fire, with a fervent heat like the very breath of the Sun, and they rode out like silver streams of moonlight, against the sounding of the Drums of Stone, that far away in the Darkness the Fallen Ents were beating, with great hammers of the mountains teeth, cut from living clay, and the earth let its blood,in streams of purpled mud.

And the Fallen Ents , from out of the Wood of Elven Souls, came marching, for they were not so swift to surrender the souls they had bound captive in deep, dead marshes, beneath their poisonous roots, souls deep asleep and drunk on the poison of years of bitter wrath of Melkor Black-Foes seething hate.

And there was a cry throughout the Forest, as the shrieking of crows, and the Ents gnashed their teeth, and rent their boughs, and the earth, and began to beat, beat, beat the Drums of Stone.

And there was a great tremor, as the Wolf of the Deep, the great Hound that is in the belly of hell, gnashed his teeth, and prepared himself to gnaw the bones of Arda till every drop of blood was given him due. Oh, but alas! the grave is never full...

And so the Tirgil gave a mighty shout, and set his horse to a full gallop into the Jaws of the Wolf, and the War of the Tree began, as the Dark Ents came marching out...


	8. Chapter 8 Melkor's Lament

**Chapter 8: Melkor's Lament~**

Then there was trouble in the heavens , and the Master of the Moon doused his lamp, and hid the face of the Lady of the Night from the trouble wrought under ancient tree, and in the midst of ancient stone. And the dead cried from the earth, and the trees, the slaves of dark masters, began to sing with the voices of the wood, in their slow language that takes the march of eternity to learn, and they cried to their Lord, and He heard them.

"Hush now, my children," said He. "I Am now come, as captain of the Lord's hosts. Fear not, little children. For darkness is as the waves of the sea, the rearing of a dark and troubled horse, that's nostrils froth with foam at his thirst. My dears, the darkness is in need of mercy, he is nothing to fear. Fear only the fallen, and the twisted, and the corrupted light. For there ,and only there, is true evil."

And Frodo heard it, and wondered greatly at all he said. For a thought had been planted in his heart, like tiny seed, and had taken root there in his many, many years of captivity, that hell perhaps is not a place of chains and torment, but an empty kingdom of hollow palaces, bitter wine, and the continuous getting of wealth with no purpose. And the thought had begun, when he had been brought before Melkor many times in torment, and in questioning, and found this to be his bitter crown, and his kingdom.

But the wind beat at Frodo's brow, and his mind was hushed within him, and his heart grew very still, barely beating, as if it tossed and turned in troubled sleep, within his bones. For the Fallen Ents strode forth, and enthroned in their dark branches, were seated on either side, the Lord and the Lady of the Shadow, Melkor and the Vampiress , his bride.

And the Dark Ents bowed down on their knees, and the Lord of Shadow, held up a hand, and the drums of stone were silenced. The Prince halted.

Eowyn brought the Horse- Lords to a check. The Dwarves stood still as the ancient mountains, and their eyes blazed with inner fire, and Thorin spun his Oakenshield in battle-hasty fingers. Legolas lowered his bow,but held and arrow in ready fingers, and Gimli watched him from across the field, suddenly filled with dread at the grim and ancient look on the Elvish-and- again- a- lad face. Aragorn drew his sword, and drew a heavy breath, waiting for the dialouge, for the Prince and his wayward friend, would certainly make speech, and utter dark sayings from out of the deeps of time. But wise, young Faramir's eyes welled with tears, and Eowyn saw it, and was moved for though she was stern as the steel in Dwarven blades, and she outwardly was cold and white as frost, still her blood flowed free, maiden's blood, warm and fresh as springs in Wild lands. And she knew in her heart why the young Steward wept, and covered his face with his dark hood, for never should the Prince of Light, and the Prince of Darkness have ever met on opposites sides of the lines of battle.

"Tirgil, Tirgil!? Why have you come!?" cried Melkor, and glowered, dark as heavy clouds that bear storms without rain's promise, boastful and dark, and full of a vain heat, was he. And Tirgil bowed his head, "You know very well, why I have come, _mellon nin."_

"Would you allow this one, a worm and no man, who's life you took on the Tree, to yet call you FRIEND!" the Vampiress scoffed, and then she looked across the field,and smiled wickedly apoun Legolas, and Gimli felt a shiver through his heart, and Thranduril broke ranks, and drew protectively close to his son.

"STAY! KEEP SILENCE,WITCH!" Melkor rebuked her. And she, and all the hosts of heaven and hell were filled with great wonder. For the Lord of the Night was suddenly beside himself with grief,

"Do you not know of Whom you speak?! This is Tirgil Eruion. This my brother from days before ever you drew air,posionous or otherwise. This, the very lover of my soul, whom I loved, when I knew what love was. And in my arrogance,and in my malice,and in my greed, I sought after his birthright. And He gave His life to me, I did not take it from Him...And in my thirst, I would have drunk the blood of all that lives, and given it to you to drink as well, my bride. But He would spare life, with the shedding of His own, and in my cruelty I put hands on He that I loved most, and I slew Him...And now, oh curse and Shadow, I am lost forever!For I have drunk His blood, and though now He lives, He shall always be slain to me..."

Then he stretched his hand to his Lord, and his Lord stretched shaking palm, with a brutal scar through the wrist, back.

"Melkor, ah, Melkor, foolish,beloved Melkor. Even now I would have hope for you, but you would not!" and the Prince wept.

"Would you not be free of your cruel Master?...Would you be free of Shaded -Light?"

Melkor growled, and his teeth foamed the blood of Tirgil, that he had drunk...

"No...For I am lost...And now that I have deigned to do as I have done, I would make Your blood be silent in my ears forever...

I will extinguish you, and release the darkness of the Tree, and Arda will be drowned in fire..."

And the Vampiress laughed, and stretched a hand to Legolas, "Ah, my son, come! You need not follow them. Did you not make free-pacts with me? Did you not barter for lives with me, and take counsel? Now , be my son, for see I am old, and have no child. Come, be heir to the Kingdom of the Dead. Then you could sleep ,Legolas, and rest from the Shadow that hangs yet in your mind, though you have not spoken."

Now Gimli gave a cry, and Thranduril drew his sword. "He is my son! The son of an elven queen, and not of a dark lord's whore!"

And Aragorn felt chill run through his blood, for Legolas' face bore great doom, as though truly he longed to go again to his grave and sleep, for the Vampiress yet tormented his mind with her sorcery. But he laughed, and raised his bow, taking a stride ahead of his father, as if to show the elder Elf that he had no need for alarm:

"You mock my master before his face,and offer me a kingdom that is not yours to give? You are a fool, and a witch;go back to your shadow, and your whoredom, and to your vile master! And leave the dead in peace. For there is no peace as sweet as the rest with the Prince, regardless of all the afflictions, and temptations, with which you have troubled me."

And Eru had heard enough, and stood up in His mighty chariot and cried:"ENOUGH! Now we stand at a counsel of peace or of war. Shall you , Melkor, make peace with my Son, and come to the judgement you so deserve, or shall you not? That alone is the question. A witch has no bargain with my children. For what you have done to Legolas, and what you yet attempt to do to him, and for the betrayal you work against your husband, to the hurt of my sons and daughters, you shall come to jugdement even greater than his! The choice is with you Melkor...What will you choose?"

Then Melkor looked in Tirgil's eyes, and the Prince already knew.

"Would it have not been simpler...?" He asked, and was sad.

"I shall never choose the simple way, Tirgil, this you ought to know at this late hour of the Song..."

And then Melkor gave a great wailing, and chanted a wordless dirge for the Prince he slew, and drank afresh the blood ever foaming in his teeth, and the host of the Enemy turned back to reform his lines, and Eowyn cried:

"So must it be! Rally now, Kings of the North! Rally to me, Eorl and his sons and daughters!"(for a great many of the shieldmaidens had risen from death to ride with their Sister, who was the last, and the most valiant of all of them) "Gather, men of the white north, lords of the steeds of thunder! For now comes the Last of All Hours, the End of the Song!"

And Tirgil heard her, and repeated sorrowfully, "Alas...so must it be..." and he turned and looked at Frodo, who knew now the truth, and he wept...


	9. Chapter 9 Ashes of Stone

**Chapter 9: Ashes of Stone~**

Then the battle rose up like the End of the Ages about them, and the drums of stone rolled with such a fervent beat, that they shattered, and broke, and left their bones lying on the ground of that ancient forest. And the Prince of Ancient Darkness, and the Prince of the First Morning, drew their swords, and rode like waves of two seas that are brothers, and ever warring over one small ,green channel,the estuary, a child, their little sister,who is trampled and crushed, like a lily under the white horses of the flotsam and the jetsam.

Then the Vampiress, set her eyes towards Legolas, and Eowyn saw it from across the field, and rode ever harder, as Windfola's fury grew hot with the wild beating of the drums of stone, and she leaped into the air from the steeds strong shoulders, leapt even to the chariot of a Dark Ent's boughs, and tore the Queen of the Darkness down, and she hissed in wrath, and drew her long and poisoned sword, and drove it through Eowyn's heart.

And her face was as hard as steel, and she took the Queen of Darkness sword,and drove it deep, deep as the hilt into her own chest, and then with her hand she broke it in half, pulled the blade free, and snapped it over her knee. And her eyes burned like fire, and she said,"What will you now, oh Queen of New Shadow?" and suddenly a darkness began to brood all around the field, and Eowyn was clad in the steel of her armor, and living fire, white as snow, and she drew closer yet, like an arrow's head heated in the forges of lightning.

"What will you do, when the end of your kingdom has come? For you have no weapon now against us. For behold, death cannot harm the servants of the Star anymore. Nor can darkness take them. Is there any grave deep enough? Shall I not turn the tombs you make for me into a furnace? If I burn, shall I not burn your kingdom down around you?! FOOL, YOU CANNOT ESCAPE!"

Suddenly Eowyn burned so white, so hot, like such lightning, that she sent several of the Dark Ents to breaking their backs, and they cowered in fear, bleeding their sap all over the field. And Merry stood up, and watched the Last-of-Shieldmaidens , in the wake of her fury, and purposed in his heart, that whatever darkness, or end of the world was yet to come, here was one he could follow.

She had become fey, and terrible, and none of the servants of hell could look apoun her. She drew her great sword, and it sang through the air. And the Vampiress was suddenly crawling before her , and begging for mercy.

"Lady of the North, show mercy! What I did, I did out of compulsion!...He , he forced me! I am no more than a whore in the Dark Lord's house!"

Eowyn's voice rolled suddenly like thunder, away in the East, the Nazgul trembled in their graves.

"You lie, there is no truth in you! You willingly went to the Dark Lord and meant to seduce him. That you might become the queen of the kingdom a Darker Shade would give you. And now, what will you? Did you think you could take the earth in shadow, and flame?Is there a darkness that can cause my Lord-of-Light to blench? And what fire can burn me now, when I have passed through all the fires of a thousand hells?...Behold, you know not what you have awoken in the deep! Now I shall burn your kingdom down. And the wind shall drink the flame that runs in my veins, and the mountains shall fall on their knees, and the earth shall be sick of the ashes it shall swallow, the ashes of stone. Then will Darkness remember He Who is Light, and Eowyn will rest at last in peace..."

The Vampiress dropped her pretense then, and drew up tall and dark as the Sammauth Naur before she surrendered to her own firey end.

"If this is to be my end, oh Lady of the North, it will be a glorious end..."

And she drew forth another sword,from out of her soul, and shrieked with the voice of the Nazgul, and Eowyn's blade met hers, and through a maze of falling Dark Ents, ablaze with their own dieing fire, they fought.

That's when Pippin joined Merry, who watched this all in horror.

"So, what for it, Merry? S'pose we should make ourselves of use? Anyway, they'll need persons of intelligence if we're to at all turn this whole ship right..."

"In which case, we won't be needing you ,Pip." young Kili teased, as he ran into the fray, bow singing.

"Och!, now listen you!" Pippin cried, and chased after him.

Merry stood still, dazed, watching the cold fury of Eowyn. When Bilbo came up , and tugged at his hand,

"Say now, it's time to to get back to it. You act as if your tounge's been taken by a whole nest of cats!"

Merry gave a soft chuckle, but barely looked up, until Bilbo had jerked him off his feet.

Frodo was running ahead, wearing his star-lit helm, two daggers, in the shape of the crescent moon, tearing like teeth through the air, and through goblins gathering under the boughs of the Dark Ents. They came in droves. Sam fought at Frodo's side with his leaf blade. Pippin had caught up with Kili, and Fili and Thorin had somehow made their way here. The She-Elf Arwen was also here at the front now, and with her the She-Elf Tauriel from Thranduril's guard,and Legolas hovered in- between them. Merry looked up wide-eyed when he saw darting in and out of waves of goblins, Boromir, who's sight amongst the living he was still not used to. Faramir was there as well, using his bow, until the goblins got too close, then he drew blade on them, killing 7 in one swoop.

Aragorn had managed to stride ahead of his host right into the fray, and was cutting down Dark Ents by the backs of their knees. Gimli was leaping from stone to stone, tearing the heads off 20 and 30 goblins at a time with his axe.

Gandalf was fighting with firey bursts of white, and red, and green from his great staff, that Merry was blinded by.

"Wouldn't it have been nice if he had done some of that at your birthday party, Mr. Bilbo?"he asked.

Bilbo laughed, and turned Sting through a goblin's belly, "Well, I suppose a wizard should save..." Suddenly Bilbo's words died in his throat. His blood ran cold.

"What? What is it?"

Tirgil's voice could be heard shouting across the entire field, even as He delivered the killing blow, through Melkor's heart.

"ALAS, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" He wailed, in sorrow.

As out of the darkness, the New Shadow came.

The Vampiress was on her knees before Eowyn now,

"No matter the valiant stand you have made, you still were too late to stop _his _coming."

Eowyn gave a cry of white fury, and struck her head from her shoulders.

"Let him come..." she gasped.

Come he would, whether they were ready or no...


	10. Chapter 10 Into the Evernight

**Chapter 10 :Into the Evernight~**

**~Author's Note: Hello, Readers! Thank you all(especially you tommyginger!) very much for the reviews! I wasn't expecting you all to think so highly of my strange story. **

**Well, folks, as of tonight this is the last chapter of "The Drums of Stone". (you knew the ending was coming soon,didn't you?, haha)**

**For those of you who enjoyed this second part of "The Tales of New Shadow" the follow-up story will be called " The Road Through Evernight"**

**So, check it out if you're interested and enjoy this humble (and very brief) attempt at a climax~**

Then out of the Last Shadow, fresh from the Void, he stepped, and he stood before Tirgil for a moment, with mocking grin, before he lifted up Melkor's body, and he devoured him whole, and let his blood drip down his hands and face with a gleeful laugh.

Frodo turned from the fight, blood turned to ashes in his veins, and gasped. For this New Shadow was very much alike Tirgil in appearance, save that where Tirgil had an aura of light, this Grey Walker, put off a light like twilight extinguished, dull blues, and reds, and even amber colors like sun as the day dies, but so void of color that it appeared as though said sun never drew his air. And where Tirgil's hair was like a woven fire, the New Shadow's hair was woven ashes, black and grey, and hanging like rotten and dead leaves. He had also the wings of a raven, and flies swarmed in his wings,so that there was a great buzzing, the sound of Death come down. He wore the skin of many slain wolves, and armor of heaviest iron, and he bore a sword of folded brass, as tall as he was, and he stood atleast 12 feet.

"Hail, Son of God!" he cried, with a laugh like a jackal.

The elves drew back, in alarm, save Legolas, who looked at Eowyn,and she came and stood with him, and discreetly they went and stood behind their Lord, he at His right hand, and she at His left.

"Why have you come again from the Darkness?" asked Tirgil (and He called him by his name, and the others quailed at the sound of it in their ears, and the shadow laughed low in his throat)

"I have come to usher You into Your kingdom, my Lord!"

He then turned, and opened the Doors on the Deep.

There was a foul stench, and a shriek of desperation from the damned, as the Grave opened and they could feel the light emanating from their Lord.

And the New Shadow turned. "Will you reclaim the Spoils of Night for your own? Will you take this Road? And who will go with you,and who will stay?"

Eowyn and Legolas drew closer. Aragorn and Gimli, and the Halflings, and Thorin and Company,this including Gandalf, pushed their way to the front.

Eorl and his house, Arwen, Thranduril and Tauriel, Boromir and Faramir, and the Awoken Dead.

But many of the sons of men, many of the elves, even the stout Rohirrim fled towards living lands again.

Tirgil looked back at His faithful few with a great smile.

Frodo wrapped an arm around Sam, and Sam returned the gesture, and they smiled broadly in reply.

Gimli beat his fist against his chest, and then beat Legolas on the back,till the twice-young Elf coughed and spun playfully on him, taking a swipe at his beard.

Bilbo looked up at them wide eyed, amazed that two could be so non-chalant before the mouth of that Road.

But it was time, and the end of the Song.

Tirgil drew His sword, and with careful steps He disappeared after the New Shadow, into his dark abyss.

Eowyn and Aragorn followed, Faramir grew agitated with Legolas and Gimli, and he and his brother grabbed them from around their waists to stop their boyish scrapping, and hauled them inside. The Hobbits, drew their cloaks close against the cold, and went striding in.

Thorin hoisted his Oakenshield, drew a careful breath, and motioned his company to follow.

And Gandalf paused at the door, and lit his staff...

"And so this is the End of Ends..." he said, and followed...

**Being the End of the Second Part of the Tales of the New Shadow~**


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